China’s trade surplus tops $1 trillion in 10 months on AI boom-fuelled exports

China’s trade surplus surged past $1 trillion in the first 10 months as a global race to build AI infrastructure buoyed sales of high-tech products and helped offset weak domestic demand, a dynamic likely to sharpen tensions with major trading partners.

The figures highlight Beijing’s growing reliance on overseas demand to support an economy hobbled by subdued consumption and a protracted property slump. But while the global AI investment boom is expected to keep demand for Chinese technology products strong into 2027, it risks deepening domestic imbalances and fuelling trade frictions with partners including the European Union.